A triad is another name for a 3 note chord. Below are the Root, 1st and 2nd inversions of an D major triad. Inversions are different ways of playing the same chord. Changing the note order. So in Root the name of the chord is always on the bottom. In 1st inversion the name of the chord (also known as the root) is on the top.

D Major triad and inversions

Note: all the triads use D, F# and A.

The first triad is in root and has D on the bottom, F# in the middle and A on the top. To get to first inversion we simply take the bottom note (D) and move it one octave higher. So the D was the lowest note and now moves to the top. Notice F# and A did not move. Then for 2nd inversion we will take the new bottom note (F#) and move it one octave higher. Notice the A and D did not move. Now if we take the new bottom note (A) in our 2nd inversion triad and move it up an octave we are back to root position (one octave higher than where we started but still called root).

If you would like to know more about chord construction click here.
If you would like to know more about reading music click here.


The D major triad is built from the 1st , 3rd and 5th degree of an D major scale.
D, F# and A
If you would like to know more about scale construction click here.

Lower the 3rd degree one half step to make the triad minor. In this case the 3rd degree is F#. The F# will be lowered to F. In all 3 inversions you will lower the F# to F to make the chords minor.

D Major

Here is the D major triad in 2nd inversion.
Notice A is the lowest note played and F# is the highest.

D Minor